The present invention relates to a lower unit guard for an outboard motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,929 discloses a lower unit guard for a boat motor. This lower unit guard has mounting plates that extend only partially across the skeg of the boat motor. The lower unit guard is secured to the boat motor by a bolt passing through the side mounting plates and the skeg. The problem with this type of mounting is that the bolt hole weakens the Skeg. Upon a jarring force being exerted upon the lower unit guard, the bolt tends to tear right through the skeg. For this reason, dealers of boat motors are presently indicating to their customers that the manufacturer""s warranty will be voided if any holes are placed in the skeg.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,565 discloses a lower unit guard that has a skeg pocket in which a lower tip of the skeg is received. The problem with this type of mounting is that there is not much strength at the lower tip of the skeg. Upon a jarring force being exerted upon the lower unit guard, the skeg tends to bend or break off.
What is required is an alternative form of lower unit guard.
According to the present invention there is provided a lower unit guard for an outboard motor which includes a mounting adapted to be secured onto a flange on a housing of a boat motor. The mounting has a leading edge. A skeg receiving pocket is provided which is adapted to receive a skeg of the boat motor. The skeg receiving pocket is adapted to accommodate in close fitting relation the skeg in its entirety. The skeg receiving pocket has a leading edge, a trailing edge and a bottom edge. A reinforcement member is adapted to fit the contours of a lower unit of a boat motor. The reinforcement member has an upper extremity secured to the leading edge of the mounting and a lower extremity secured to the leading edge of the skeg receiving pocket.
The lower unit guard, as described above, provides a more secure installation that will not be as prone to damage the skeg when subjected to a jarring impact. This is accomplished by several factors. The first factor is having the skeg pocket fit the skeg in close fitting relation so there can be no movement of the skeg within the pocket. The second factor is having the skep pocket accommodate the skeg in its entirety, so that any force acting upon the skeg is spread over the entire skeg.
Although beneficial results may be obtained through the lower unit guard, as described above, even more beneficial results may, therefore, be obtained when the reinforcing member has an underlying portion that underlies the skeg receiving pocket. This configuration adds additional rigidity to the skeg pocket, so that, to the greatest extent possible, it is the lower guard unit and not the skeg itself that absorbs the impact.
The most common mounting for securing the upper extremity of the reinforcing member is to position an attachment bracket that has bolt holes that align with the bolt holes on the flange that secure the upper and lower portions of the housing of the outboard motor together. Unfortunately, the spacing of the bolt holes varies with different manufacturers and different sizes of outboard motor. Even more beneficial results may, therefore, be obtained when a mounting clamp is positioned at the upper extremity of the reinforcing member. The clamp includes a first clamping member, a second clamping member and means for maintaining the first clamping member and the second clamping member in clamping engagement.
The clamping attachment at the upper extremity, as described above, enables the lower unit guard to be more readily mounted on outboard motors of different sizes and made by different manufacturers.
Although beneficial results may be obtained through the use of the lower unit guard, as described above, the clamp is more effective when one or both one of the first clamping member and the second clamping member has a cavity adapted to receive a flange on an outboard motor.